The tendency to engage in gossip can be inherent in social life, especially when it is very easy to engage in pointless online chats.By definition gossip does not have to be negative However, as conveyed by the often-associated adjective ‘juicy’, it usually contains unflattering observations about others who do not realize that they are the subject of conversation.
Gossip is not a phenomenon unique to the social media age. As a new paper by his Ghulam Murtaza and colleagues (2022) at the KEDGE Business School (Marseille, France) points out, “gossip, in line with its Shakespearean meaning, is destabilizing and disorganizing.” It is highly related to the phenomenon of ”(p. 2). In other words, gossip has the ability to destroy existing social ties and wreak havoc among groups of people who work together, are members of the same family, or share other ties. It is possible that when A tells B about C, no one in the small group now feels they can trust each other, especially C who feels angry and seeks retaliation. I have.
gossip and unproductive behavior
Maintaining that gossip in the workplace can be particularly disruptive, so the French research team focused on industrial environments. All of them were located in Pakistan and ranged from technical engineers and programmers to those working in sales, marketing and HR support.
The main premise of this study was that employees exposed to negative gossip were more likely to engage in work behaviors that were unproductive to the company (e.g., during breaks taking time for yourself) and to other employees (e.g. saying something that hurts someone). The extent to which participants feel they are the target of negative gossip has been hypothesized to predict emotional exhaustion and burnout, which ultimately lead to higher levels of unproductive work behavior. It was fatigue. In addition, people who frequently used social media at work were predicted to be more susceptible to gossip.
The authors further hypothesized that not everyone exhibits this unfortunate pattern. is ‘moral attentiveness’, a personality trait that includes the perception of moral experiences in everyday life (perceptual moral attention) and the tendency to pay moral attention. Taking issues into account when making decisions (reflective moral caution).
If you think about your daily thoughts and actions, you may be able to relate to the concept of moral caution. If you were given the opportunity to cheat, such as leaving an incorrectly sent package, would you do it? Does it even seem like a moral issue to you? If so, you’re theoretically more morally vigilant, and even if you get offended by gossip at work, you’re less likely to find ways to trick the company or target fellow employees.
Gossip model test
The general framework of Murtaza et al. This study falls under the category of “resource conservation” models in the organizational literature. The model predicts that gossip leads to “emotional consumption,” as employees use energy at work to fend off hurt feelings. Although specific to the workplace, resource conservation models can also provide a useful approach to understanding how people respond to negative gossip in family and friend ecosystems.
IT workers such as Murtaza. The study he completed over a period of 6 months, with 3 studies separated by 2 months each. An initial sample of 989 participants, he eventually reduced to 306. This is not uncommon in studies involving multiple measurement points.
Exposure to negative workplace gossip in the form of ‘harmful information’ communicated by peers and supervisors was assessed on a three-item scale. In addition to using standard measures of emotional exhaustion and a simple social media use scale, the authors assessed moral alertness on his 12-item scale, which includes:
- “Many of the decisions I make have an ethical dimension.” (Perceptual Moral Attention)
- “I think about the morality of my actions almost every day.” (Reflex Moral Attention)
After fitting the data to a predictive model, the research team found that workers with low moral attention (combining perceptual and reflective diversity) and frequent exposure to social media had the highest levels of found that the unproductive work behavior of As it concludes, “We believe that toxic conversations about people who are not present can be a virulent virus that spreads and ultimately worsens the organizational environment” (p. 17). ). In addition, the “dark side” of social media use is supported by research findings that hurt feelings generated by public gossip can create an even greater desire for retaliation in the work environment. rice field.
Turning to the buffering role of moral attention, the authors further state that “ethical attention serves as a resource for facing stressful situations” (p. 17). I’m here. People with high moral alertness can see strength in their ability to act ethically, thus avoiding emotional exhaustion.
Build your own anti-gossip reserve
Based on research at KEDGE schools, the following two main strategies can help protect you from the ability of gossip to bring you down.
- Strengthens moral vigilance. You’re less likely to seek retribution, and even if you’re attacked, swearing to take the high moral path will make your relationship even worse.
- Be proud of the strength of your personality: High moral vigilance can boost self-esteem. This is a resource worth having in any situation.
From this perspective, the “sling and arrow” of negative gossip becomes a minor insult to your inner well-being rather than a serious threat. Let petty people gossip about you. In other words, it’s their problem, not yours.
to sum up, Being exposed to gossip is not a pleasant experience. But by digging deep into your own personal hoard, you can get past that gossip and pursue your own inner path.
